Neal Caffrey, a renowned con artist, forger, and thief, is captured after a three-year game of cat and mouse with the FBI, specifically Special Agent Peter Burke. With only three months left in his four-year sentence, he escapes to look for his girlfriend, Kate. Peter Burke once again finds Caffrey and returns him to prison. This time, Caffrey proposes a deal to help Burke apprehend dangerous white collar criminals with the FBI as part of a work-release program. After some hesitation, Burke agrees. They thus begin their unconventional and testy relationship.

Main charactersEdit

• Matt Bomer as Neal Caffrey:^[1]

A skilled forger and thief, he is charming and intelligent. Caffrey was imprisoned after being captured by FBI Special Agent Peter Burke. Neal proposes he become an FBI consultant, in exchange for early release. Burke agrees on the condition Neal wears an ankle monitor, allowing the FBI to keep a close eye on Neal's movements. Given the opportunity to build a new, honest life for himself, Neal often craves his old life, forcing him to battle with his inner saboteur.

• Tim DeKay as Special Agent in Charge^[2] Peter Burke:^[3]

A hard-working, honest FBI agent, and the head of the investigative team on which Neal serves.

• Willie Garson as Mozzie:^[4]

Another con man and close friend of Neal, Theodore "Moz" Winters, is Neal's most trusted confidant.

• Tiffani Thiessen as Elizabeth Burke:

An event planner and Peter's wife. She is supportive and understanding of his work and long hours away. An intelligent woman herself, Elizabeth is able to discuss Peter's cases with him, and admires Neal's refinement.

• Marsha Thomason as Special Agent Diana Berrigan (recurring, season 1; main cast, seasons 2–6):

Previously Peter's probationary agent, Diana assists on Peter and Neal's first case together. Transferred to D.C. after her probation ends, she later returns to the investigative team in New York. She is openly lesbian.

• Sharif Atkins as Special Agent Clinton Jones (recurring, seasons 1–3; main cast, seasons 4–6):

Peter's point man who is responsible for carrying out a variety of tasks during the team's investigations, including surveillance. He appreciates Neal's unorthodox contributions to the team.

• Hilarie Burton as Sara Ellis (recurring, seasons 2 and 4; main cast, season 3):

An insurance company (Sterling Bosch) investigator who testified against Neal when he was on trial, and determined to see him return to prison, she later discovers she enjoys working with him.

• Natalie Morales as Special Agent Lauren Cruz (season 1):^[5]

A junior agent who requested a transfer to Peter's team and served on it briefly.

Recurring charactersEdit

• Diahann Carroll as June Ellington:

An elderly widow who meets Neal at a thrift store soon after his release from prison. June is a quick judge of character, and offers Neal her guest room. June also has a close friendship with Mozzie and is often seen talking to him or playing board games.

• James Rebhorn as Special Agent Reese Hughes:

The agent in charge of the FBI's Manhattan White Collar Crime Unit, Hughes is supportive of Peter's use of Neal as a confidential informant.

• Bridget Regan as Rachel Turner/Rebecca Lowe:

An expert in ancient books, especially Mosconi's texts. Rebecca joins Neal and Mozzie in their efforts to resolve the mystery behind Mosconi's Codex and becomes Neal's new love interest.

• Gloria Votsis as Alexandra Hunter:

A professional thief and black market fence who was formerly romantically involved with Neal. She periodically assists with Peter and Neal's cases, but the nature of her and Neal's relationship is always somewhat of a mystery.

• Ross McCall as Matthew Keller:

A thief and archrival of Neal, Keller was arrested and jailed by Peter but later escaped and tried to steal the U-boat treasure that Neal and Mozzie have.

• Alexandra Daddario as Kate Moreau:

Neal's missing girlfriend, who appears to be acting under the direction of a mysterious man, identifiable only by his 10-year commemorative FBI ring. She provides Neal with cryptic clues when she wants to communicate with him, and eventually prepares to reunite with Neal.

• Treat Williams as James Bennett/Samuel "Sam" Phelps:

A mysterious former cop who turns out to be Neal's father, and who was framed for murder.

• Mark Sheppard as Curtis Hagen:

A criminal caught during the first case on which Peter and Neal worked together.

• Judith Ivey as Ellen Parker/Kathryn Hill:

Neal's father's former partner. She arrested Neal's father and then was put into WITSEC along with Neal and his mother.

• Noah Emmerich as Special Agent Garrett Fowler:

A discredited agent from the Office of Professional Responsibility, his abuse of authority in pursuit of Neal and Peter eventually leads to his forced resignation. Neal believes he is responsible for Kate's death.

• Beau Bridges as Agent Phillip Kramer:

Peter Burke's instructor when Burke was training at Quantico, and later Burke's mentor. Kramer works in the Art Crimes Unit in Washington, D.C. He, like Neal, is an expert in art, and believes Neal is too valuable to be a free man, so plans to have Neal transferred to Washington, D.C. to work with him.

• Moran Atias as Christie:

Diana's girlfriend. She is a physician who works at a hospital.

• Andrew McCarthy as Vincent Adler:

A wealthy financier who is the subject of a long con soon after Neal and Mozzie get together. Kate was working as Adler's personal assistant when Neal took a job with Adler in order to gain his confidence and get the information needed for the con. Adler taught Neal about personal style and to enjoy an expensive lifestyle.

• Titus Welliver as Senator Terrance Pratt:

He was James's (Neal's father's) captain when he was working for the D.C. Metropolitan Police.

• Denise Vasi as Cindy:

June's granddaughter.

For the first season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10 based on 27 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Featuring clever plotting and outstanding chemistry between its leads, White Collar is a witty, briskly-paced caper series."^[6] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 79 of 100 for the season, based on reviews from 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[7]

For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 8/10, based on 13 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "White Collar's second season builds on the strengths of its first, placing greater emphasis on the charismatic cast, snappy banter, and compelling crimes."^[8]

For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 8.1/10, based on 10 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "White Collar boasts prestige pedigree with stripped down plotting and a laser focus on relationship stakes."^[9] Metacritic assigned a score of 72 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[10]

For the fourth season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 8.7/10, based on 12 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "White Collar's fourth season keeps things moving with hefty amounts of action, intrigue, and handsomeness."^[11]

For the fifth season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 83% approval rating with an average score of 8/10, based on 6 reviews.^[12]

For the sixth season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 8.7/10, based on 5 reviews.^[13]

At the People's Choice Awards, White Collar was nominated in the categories of Favorite TV Obsession and Favorite Dramedy in 2011 and 2015. It was nominated for Favorite TV Cable Drama between 2012 and 2014. Matt Bomer won the award for Favorite TV Cable Actor in 2015.^[14] Diahann Carroll was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama series at the Image Awards in 2012 and 2014. At the TV Guide Awards, actors Tim DeKay and Matt Bomer were both nominated for Favorite Duo in 2012. At the NewNowNext Awards, Matt Bomer was nominated in the category of Cause You're Hot in 2010. Regan Mizrahi was nominated in the category of Best Performance in a TV series - Guest Starring Young Actor at the Young Artist Awards in 2012.^[15] The pilot received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Television Pilot - Drama at the Casting Society of America Awards in 2010.

ION Television acquired the rights for syndication of White Collar in 2013 along with Burn Notice.^[28] It is the third USA Network television series to be in syndication on ION Television, along with Monk and Psych.

On May 6, 2020, series creator Jeff Eastin wrote on Twitter that he "Had a great convo with Matt Bomer. We have a plan to bring #WhiteCollar back."^[29] Fox 21 Television Studios, which succeeded the now-defunct Fox TV Studios, is not working on a revival as of 2020^[update].^[30]

The first season of White Collar was released in the US as White Collar: The Complete First Season as a widescreen four-disc Region 1 DVD box set on July 13, 2010.^[31] The same set was released on July 26, 2010, in Region 2, and on August 18, 2010, in Region 4.^[32] The first season of White Collar was released on Blu-ray. The season two four-disc Region 1 DVD box set was released on June 7, 2011. White Collar: The Complete Third Season four-disc Region 1 DVD box set was released on June 5, 2012.^[33] White Collar: Season 4 DVD box set was released on October 8, 2013. White Collar: Season 5 DVD box set was released on November 4, 2014. White Collar: Season 6 DVD box set was released on May 5, 2015.

• White Collar on Disney+